Switzerland projects Indian flag on Mount Matterhorn to show solidarity in battle against coronavirus

Switzerland has expressed solidarity with India in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic by projecting the tricolour on the famous Matterhorn mountain in the Swiss Alps to give "hope and strength" to all Indians.

Swiss light artist Gerry Hofstetter has been lighting up the 4,478-meter pyramidal peak straddling between Switzerland and Italy with spectacular displays of flags of different countries and messages of hope as part of a nightly series supporting the nations combating the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.

"As one of the most populous countries in the world, India is suffering from the Corona crisis. The challenges in such a large country are immense. The Indian flag on the Matterhorn is intended to express our solidarity and give hope and strength to all Indians," the tourism organisation Zermatt Matterhorn wrote on its Facebook page.

"Indian Tricolor of more than 1000 meters in size projected on Matterhorn Mountain, Zermatt, Switzerland to express Solidarity to all Indians in the fight against COVID 19. A big Thank You to @zermatt_tourism for the gesture," the Indian embassy in Switzerland tweeted.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also shared the tweet with a caption saying, "The world is fighting COVID-19 together. Humanity will surely overcome this pandemic." As the world grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, Switzerland has been sending out messages of hope, love and empathy. The daily projections have been illuminating the mountain since the end of March.

The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 480 and the number of cases to 14,378 in India on Saturday, according to the Union Health Ministry. The country has extended the nationwide lockdown till May 3 to stem the spread of coronavirus.

According to data maintained by Johns Hopkins University, a total of 154,142 people have died and 2,242,868 people have been infected by the novel coronavirus that originated in China in November last year.

Over 35,000 people have died in the US and the country has 701,131 infections, the highest in the world.